Named Lectures in the Planetary Sciences

Shoemaker Lecture

The Shoemaker Lecture is part of the AGU series of Bowie lectures that were inaugurated in 1989 at the 50th presentation of the William Bowie Medal, the AGU's highest honor.

The Shoemaker lecture is named for Eugene Shoemaker, an outstanding geologist and planetary scientist known for his study of impact craters and lunar science. Shoemaker was awarded the Bowie Medal in 1996 and was killed in an auto accident in Australia in 1997. His citation for the Bowie Medal illuminates his illustrious career that was crowned with the discovery that Comet Shoemaker/Levy-9 would impact Jupiter in 1994.

Whipple Lecture

The Whipple Lecture is given by the winner of the Whipple Award. Fred Whipple, a gifted astronomer most noted for his work on comets, was an AGU Fellow elected in 1962 and the Section's first Whipple Award honoree in 1990.

Sagan Lecture

The Sagan Lecture is co-sponsored with the Biogeosciences Section and is named in honor of Carl Sagan. Trained in astronomy and biology Sagan was a leader in establishing the field of Astrobiology and a tireless educator, author and space advocate. He is well known among the general public for his award-winning PBS television series Cosmos and numerous books.

Sagan was President of the Section from 1980 to 1982. He was a founder of The Planetary Society and was Editor in Chief of Icarus for 12 years. An inspiration to several generations of young planetary scientists he died in 1996.

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